This collection of essays focuses on British Aestheticism as it was practiced, interpreted and reconfigured by women writers and painters of the late-Victorian period. Empowered by Walter Pater's emphasis on a subjective approach to life, art and aesthetic pleasure, fin-de-siècle poets, essayists, novelists and artists engaged in Aestheticism as a way of experimenting with new subjects and new forms capable of conveying their critique of mainstream Victorian values, commodity culture and sexual politics. By examining women's participation in this important movement, this volume contributes to the current re-evaluation of Aestheticism's rich diversity and powerful originality.